It was difficult to convince him.

            “I don’t believe it!  That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.  I refuse to entertain the idea that we could be so easily deceived for seven years!  Evil twins are straight out of soap operas, not real life!”  Alex stormed, pacing around and hurling words at us.

            Genevieve and I sat down on a nearby rock just off the path, patiently waiting for him to finish his tirade.  I felt a little squeamish about it, embarrassed by his yelling, but I wondered why my sister was putting up with it.  If we were in a partnership with this man now, it was off to a bad start.  If he couldn’t trust us on this one point, why should he count on us for other things?  And how could we rely on him?

            “You’re asking me to believe that one of my best friends isn’t even who I’ve known him to be for years, that someone I trust is really an impostor…” He continued, his voice beginning to grow hoarse.

            “Stop.”  Genevieve said simply, and quietly.  Her eyes locked with his, and Alexander stopped as if she had been the one yelling at him.  The insistent determination he saw in her eyes and heard in her voice struck him as a physical blow.  He froze in the middle of the pathway, almost breathless from his tantrum.

            Genevieve slid off the rock and walked up to him slowly, until she was standing so close she was bare inches away from his face as she looked up at him.  Alex was taller than Ethan, so Genevieve came up to his chin.  Nonetheless, for the moment it seemed as if she towered over him, as she stood with resolve and he stood like a scolded child.

            “I don’t deserve to be yelled at,” she began, and she put a finger over Alex’s mouth when he seemed about to voice a protest.  “I know it sounds impossible.  But Gwen saw Ethan, and he warned her.  I believe my sister.  In a day and age when the stars are falling from the sky, when Jason can heal with a touch, when we’ve all had visions…  To not believe her seems ridiculous.”

            They stood for a long time, Genevieve staring into Alex’s dark eyes.  It seemed like she was almost daring him to question her resolution.  To challenge her will.

            “I’m sorry.”  He whispered after a tense moment, looking embarrassed.  “I had no right to question your integrity.  I just felt foolish…  to think that he’s been manipulating us for so long…”

            “I know.  I know.”  She put her hand on his cheek.  “You and Neal always had too much pride for your own good, refusing to admit that you could be wrong.  But I knew you’d come around.  I had faith in you.  But from now on, show some faith in us.”

            He blushed sheepishly.  “You can understand how difficult it was to believe?  No evidence but a vision…”

            “That’s what faith is.  Believing when you’re uncertain.  It’s the only way to go, by trusting.  And there was evidence!  I told Neal a long time ago that this evil Ethan was left-handed and violent, but no one listened.”  Eve insisted.

   “Well, I’m listening now.”

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